In the Shadows
by music-loving-penguin
Summary: Azkadellia is left confused and broken after the witch is defeated and Jeb is left cynical and bitter. Can they help each other escape the witch?
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing but the storyline**

Princess Azkadellia was sitting on the window ledge in her room gazing out over the lake. Her eyes were unfocused and had a blank look to them. It was obvious she was lost deep in her own thoughts, not paying attention to the world being acted out beyond her window.

She jumped up with a cry when somebody spoke and a hand was placed on her shoulder.

'Princess, the Queen and Prince Consort are expecting you in the throne room,' the maid repeated, looking slightly puzzled by the outburst.

'Sorry Ellie, I was miles away,' she murmured to the maid as she bobbed and walked away.

She looked into the mirror before she left her room to adjust her hair and dress. The dark circles under her eyes were painfully obvious and it was pointless trying to hide them with magic, Raw would always know.

She hurried along the corridors of the castle, only pausing outside the doors of the throne room to place a smile on her lips but inside she was still nervous.

When she was around her parents she could not help but see the premature signs of age, the graying hair and furrowed brows. Signs she could not but help to think she placed there when they were worrying about what she would do to the O.Z, worrying what she would do to them, to her sister and what she would do to herself. It seemed she had brought worry permanently into her families lives.

New rumors of renegade longcoats were circulating daily and the unrest in Central City was the current talk of the castle. She had brought this on her parents and on her sister after them. She was responsible for it all. Yet they all looked at her the same way. Eyes full of pity and sadness, no hint of hatred or resentment. They actually worried about the woman that ruined their kingdom. Even the newly appointed General Cain pitied her; the man who had been forced on her command to watch his family be tortured over and over again no longer feared her but was concerned for her. No, those who saw her every day could not hate her. She was too pathetic to hate, though it was all she felt she deserved.

The looks of disgust and fear came from the ordinary people though. The people who could not see past the face of the Sorceress. They could not see the haunted look in her eyes or how frail she had become. That she was tormented by personal demons and memories she could not suppress. They could only see the woman that ordered their demise not the shell that was left behind.

Many were skeptical about the stories of the witch and Azkadellia's completely passive role; none more so than Cain's son Jeb. Most people believed in the witch as many had seen the double eclipse and knew enough of their childhood lessons to realize what was happening but a lot of them believed she had naively invited the witch in to overthrow her sister. Her friends all tried to hide the fact that people still thought her a tyrant but it was painfully obvious to her. Jeb barely hid how he felt about her which caused his father to argue with him a lot. She could barely enter a room, other than her own, without hearing people discussing her.

This was another one of those occasions. As she pushed open the doors the room fell silent and all eyes turned to face her. Her mother, father and sister were seated at the thrones with Sir Glitch and Sir Raw standing behind the them and Cain and Jeb standing in front. Her family smiled, Raw bowed and Glitch's face split into a huge grin and he waved happily. Since his brain had been restored he had regained Ambrose's knowledge but also retained some of Glitch's quirks.

She moved to stand beside Cain when her mother laughed kindly, 'No dear, you are here to listen not to be listened to,' whilst motioning to the chair off to her right, next to her father.

She sat down, very aware of the look of contempt on Jeb's face. He clearly did not think he should have to justify himself to her.

Cain dipped his head in her direction before turning back to address the Queen. 'Your Majesty, your Highnesses, royal advisors we are here to give a report into the state of the Outer Zone and the best way to move forward. I have received reports from the commanders of the battalions I have stationed in the four quarters of the O.Z. as well as Central City and to be frank things could be much better. In the outlying regions life goes on as normal as the witch's touch was not greatly felt there but in Central City and the areas surrounding it there is a great deal of unrest. Many people are unsure if you have truly been reinstated or that this is not some elaborate ruse of the witch to draw out the resistance. Jeb has contacted as many resistance leaders as he can and asked them to spread the word but some are hidden so deep we have no way of contacting them.'

Azkadellia shuddered at the mention of the witch, her father leaned towards her and took her hand. She looked up just in time to catch the incredulous look in Jeb's eyes.

Jeb nodded before stepping slightly forwards to speak. 'Some resistance members, such as those spies we had in Central City, had to be exceptionally cautious to evade the witch and her army. We had no way of contacting them they always contacted us. By the time I had followed up the few leads I had they had already vanished without a trace. A few of these deep agents have resurfaced but some are still unaccounted for.'

'Do these agents pose a threat to Azkadellia?' Prince Ahamo asked?

'They were informants and nothing more. They were trained to gather information from the outside, as getting close to the Sorceress was too dangerous. They would not risk getting close, especially if they thought this was a trap.'

'How is the hunt for the escaped longcoats going General?' the Queen asked changing the subject quickly. She could sense both her daughters unease.

'Without Zero they are leaderless and without the Sorceress they have nothing to fight for only power for themselves. We are unsure how much of the bandit activity can be pinned to them but it is certain from witness accounts that they are raiding outlying villages and travelling merchants. I have already sent messages to the commanders to send men to the at risk villages but the army is not mobile enough to hunt them down. The army's power lies in numbers, that operation requires a small highly versatile groups. With your permission I think it would be best to assign the members of the old resistance to hunting them. They have experience of combat in many terrains as well as dealing with the longcoats.'

'Using the resistance sounds like a good idea but they do not have an overall leader. Who would they answer to?' Glitch inquired.

'They would answer to me as head of defense and security,' Cain responded.

'This is a large mission General. Would it not be sensible to appoint a man in charge of this operation, somebody who knew the resistance well? Somebody both sides could trust. Then he could be the one to field the reports and pass the information on to you,' said the Queen with a small smile on her face.

'I agree with you your Majesty. Such a wide spread operation needs a leader of its own. It would be a lot of extra work for you General. Having somebody else in the chain of command would be wise. Also appointing somebody the resistance trusts and reveres would reassure them as to our motives. They would not accuse them of working for the Sorceress,' cried Glitch.

'Do you agree General,' the Queen quizzed, fixing her intense lavender eyes on his face.

'It would make the operation smoother and cause less arguments and reduce the negotiations necessary.'

'Good, then I nominate Jeb to be head of this mission. He fits the criteria exactly. He has already proved himself in service to the crown spreading the news of my return to the throne. He can now further his work by bringing down those who oppose me. That is, unless any of you object?'

Everybody, except Azkadellia, agreed .

'Do you think me an unworthy candidate, Your Highness?' Jeb asked bitterly.

'No, I think you are exactly the man my mother described. I just do not think I should get a vote in this matter. The more removed I am from the operation the more likely it is to succeed,'

Azkadellia replied, trying to ignore his tone and his look of disgust.

The sentence hung in the air for a moment before DG opened her mouth to berate her sister for her negative attitude.

Before she could begin the Queen interrupted her. 'The matter is settled. Jeb shall be Captain of this mission. I think that is enough for today. Tomorrow General, Captain you will draw up a plan for this mission with the Prince Consort and Sir Glitch and report back to me next week.'

Azkadellia walked away from the throne room as quick as she could. She wanted to be as far away as possible form Jeb Cain when her sister would undoubtedly explode into a torrent of reasons for her not to feel any guilt and that the people would come round in the end. She had seen the look in Jeb's eye, it would take a lot to change his mind. Even being around her intermittently for the last three months, seeing the defenseless, weak woman that the witch had left behind had barely softened his opinion. She could not be as optimistic as her sister. DG had never experienced hardship she had only known love. She had no idea how hateful people could be.

Azkadellia knew first hand how twisted and warped by hate a mind could become. She had seen inside the mind of the witch, a dark, evil, wicked mind incapable of compassion. She had been linked to her for so long she had become unsure which thoughts were hers. The witch had told her that it was all her, she was the wicked one. She was the one doing all those terrible things and that the witch was just giving her the power and the freedom to do them. It was only when DG had taken her hand that she had truly found herself again. She felt love, glowing brightly within her when her sister stood before her. It gave her the strength to fight to rip herself away from the witch but that fortitude had faded quickly.

The taint was still there though. In her dreams the witch's voice was in her mind, spewing hate and lies to her. Azkadellia was free of her clutches but she was not free of her own mind. Sometimes, in the dead of night, she wondered if the witch was truly gone or if she was just hiding in the back of her mind. DG calmed these fears but they always returned.

She heard the running footsteps and slowed her face to allow DG to catch up with her.

'Az! Azkadee! Wait up. What went wrong in there. You've been doing well recently,' DG began.

'Well?' she question incredulously.

'OK then you've been doing better. Then Jeb or Cain opens his mouth and you… you…you. I don't what happens Az but it's not good. You go back inside yourself.'

'I wasn't that far out to begin with but the look in Jeb's eyes. It brought back all the shame and the guilt. I could hear her laughing! Deeg that hasn't happened in the day for ages. Every time I think I'm moving forward, however little it may be, reality catches up with me and pushes me back down.'

'Oh Azkadee!' DG cried throwing her arms around her.

Azkadellia smiled weakly as she pulled away from her sister. 'Go find Cain, he will want to talk to you about the meeting.'

'But…'

'I'll be fine. I would like to be by myself for a while.'

'OK but if you need me,'

'I know where you are.'


	2. Chapter 2

As she walked along the gravel path, Azkadellia began singing to herself under her breath. It wasn't a particular song but the melody soothed her nerves as she examined her life.

The servants were beginning to mellow now. The looks of hate were few and far between. No doubt most had heard the tales of her sobbing in the night and the panic attacks in the day. They could see the scars the witch left behind. They all trusted the Queen and if she had forgiven her, there must be a reason to.

They also had notice the tattoos across her chest had disappeared, one if the signs they greatly associated with the witch. Her hair was much shorter now as well, she had cut it off in one of her early outbursts. She wore it in a simple braid now instead of elaborate designs. They were more scared of her breaking down now instead of hurting them.

This feeling seemed to be spreading slowly in the lands surrounding the castle but she dared not venture closer to central city. Sometimes her parents and sister would make a ceremonial visit in an attempt to quell the unrest and oversee the reconstruction. She could never bring herself to go. Glitch thought it might be an idea for them to see the new plainer Azkadellia and her mother agreed. She could not bare to face all the hate. She was determined not to leave the castle. This would be her home. Leave central city for those who deserved to rule. Leave her in the provinces living out her days.

She knew, deep down, that through her families efforts the taint of the witch would fade from the land and eventually time would heal the minds of the population but she also knew that she played no further part in the future of the OZ. She would be the one in the shadows, there but not really there.

That was still too much for some people though. The ex-resistance would be the hardest to convince. They had always known this. DG was sure she could convince Jeb to relent and that the others would follow suit. Az didn't know what it would take to persuade Jeb. He had witnessed first hand one of her meltdowns, crying like a child in her fathers arms. He had looked at her coldly, believing it an act. Though she had no pride in herself she was proud of her family name and felt she had besmirched it enough. She would stain it no further by acting up for forgiveness.

She sighed in frustration. She could deal with the distant hate and the hate of those who had not seen her reformed but Jeb's stung. He had seen her in her darkest hour, with no walls or pretences and he still thought her wicked. She was just easier to blame than some absentee witch from a child's story.

A rain drop fell on her cheek, mingling with her tears. She turned to head back to the castle. Her path took her past the newly erected barracks, at this time packed with soldiers returning from Cain's intensive training. A few were lingering under the eves of the building for shelter against the upcoming storm. She cast her eyes to the ground, hoping they would ignore her, the policy employed by most of the occupants of the castle.

She was out of luck. The broadest of the men called out to her, 'Princess, the weather has turned foul. Why not come a join us while the storm passes,' he leered.

'I thought she would melt if she was touched by the rain,' another cried. This was met by raucous laughter. She hurried on, making her escape whilst they were laughing at her. She passed the barracks and rounded the corner to the stables, glad she had escaped with only her pride bruised.

The stables were empty of workers as it was dinner time for the servants. She found the bustle of castle life reassuring but deserted it was full of eerie shadows. She shivered from the cold and the feeling of unease that had overcome her.

She heard a noise behind her and turned in time to see the broad soldier grab her by the waste and push her into an empty stable. She tried to scream but his large had smothered it whilst the other kept a painfully tight grasp on her waist.

'Make a sound and I'll make it much worse for you than it is already going to be,' he jeered.

She tried to break free of his grasp but he was too strong. He pinned her to the wall by his body so his hands were free to gag her.

'Such a pretty face,' he crowed, 'to hide such evil behind. Well, now you are going to get what you deserve you little bitch.' He slapped her across the face causing her to cry out.

'I told you not to speak,' he growled, ripping the arm off her dress. The tears began to fall again as he proceeded to rip her bodice.

'Aww, crying over you pretty dress being ruined. Well, I'm gonna give you something to really cry about,' he laughed. He tugged at her dress, ripping the seams of the bodice and leaving it hanging open, revealing the top of her pale chest. She moaned in terror which earned her another blow to the face. A cut opened along her cheek and she tasted blood in her mouth. Her head was spinning and tears blurred her vision as his grasping hand sought more material to rip.

'What the HELL is going on in here?' a familiar voice bellowed from the stable door. She no longer felt the pressure of her attacker's body and without his support she fell to the floor; her legs too weak to support her. She could hear a fight going on near by and the sound of the alarm being raised. Her attacker was swearing profusely, at her, at her rescuer and at her family for standing by her. She heard a punch landing and a thud as something heavy hit the floor.

She still could not place the voice of her rescuer, the blows had made her head pound and it disrupted her thinking. She felt someone kneel down next to her and remove her gag. They lifted her up so she was sitting on the floor, he vision still blurred by the tears and her hair.

'Princess, princess. Can you walk? What did he do to you?' She was unable to answer the question; only a sob escaped her throat when she tried to speak.

Her rescuer stayed next to her with his hand on her shoulder waiting for her to regain her composure.

'He said I deserved it,' she cried. 'Told me to shut up but I couldn't he was hurting me so he hit me. Said he was going to give me something to cry over,' she sobbed.

She felt her rescuers body stiffen.

'He said that? That bastard!'

She wiped her eyes and pushed the hair from her face. She saw her attacker lying unconscious on the floor; an obvious fist mark on his face. She turned her head to look at her rescuer and looked into the eyes of Jeb Cain.

She gasped and pulled away from him suddenly less confident of her safety. She tried to stand but her legs gave way again. Jeb caught her and span her to face him.

'Princess you are safe now. It is my job to protect your family and the OZ. Let me take you to your parents so you can explain what happened.'

'Shouldn't you be defending the OZ from me then?' she asked, hoping for a rare insight into the mind of a Cain man.

'I have been assured you pose no threat to the OZ my lady, however the OZ seems to pose a threat to you.'

He didn't speak again as he assisted her to her parents chambers. They both told their stories and Jeb was dismissed. Her family made a huge fuss but after her ordeal she was exhausted. She was taken to her room and DG insisted on sleeping with her. Normally she would have protested, unwilling to rely on her sister for the rest of her life, but the comfort and safety were greatly appreciated.

She did not see Jeb again for a week. He was busy planning the new mission for the resistance. Her attacker was executed for treason and news spread around the castle of her attack. All she wanted to do was forget it but the voice of the witch would not let her constantly bringing it up as she tried to sleep. Even the presence of her sister failed to quell the witches voice for the first few days.

Another voice echoing in her mind was Jeb's. Was he acting or did he no longer se her as a threat? Did it mean he no longer hated her? Did it mean he had seen beyond the face and down to the person? She did not know but was unwilling to find out.

Her parents and sister had to leave for central city two weeks after the attack. Azkadellia had still to see Jeb. They were to leave Sir Raw behind to look after her as well as half of the Galeforcers.

The fears of her father was also pacified by the arrival of some of the ex-resistance members. They swore allegiance to the crown, including Az. Many of them had been present for the double eclipse and seen the witch herself. Many had given up on the notion of her being evil. Some looked at her with pity, others with indifference, only a few with contempt but none with any malice. They all echoed Jeb's words when asked of their opinion of her; 'She no longer poses a threat.' Sir Raw was also asked to inspect the mind of each new recruit and he declared none would harm her.

She was sitting in the music room with Raw one morning, neither playing just sitting amiably together when Jeb walked in.

'Sir Raw, I have a new recruit arrived this morning. I wish for you to check his mind before I sign him up to the mission.'

Raw left instantly leaving Jeb and Azkadellia alone for the first time since the stable.

She looked up aware of Jeb staring at her. Her gaze on him seemed to pull him from his thoughts.

'Why didn't you use your magic to defend yourself?' he asked. She was taken aback, the shock evident on her face. 'I am sorry to be so bold but it has been preying on my mind.'

'I... I daren't use magic. I don't know what I can do. I don't want to hurt anybody with it. That is what she used to do. I want to distance myself from her.'

'Even if it means getting hurt yourself?'

'He said I deserved it.'

'That does not make it true.'

'Doesn't it? He cannot be alone in believing I need to be punished for my part in this. Who are you to say what I do and do not deserve.'

'Because I experienced the Sorceress's work first hand. I do not believe you deserve to be attacked and used like a common whore. Nobody deserves that.'

'Not even a wicked worthless thing like me?'

'You are not wicked otherwise you would have used you magic against him. You are not worthless you are royalty and you do not deserve punishment. I have seen the agony in your eyes. The memories haunt you and terrorise your dreams. Somebody that affected cannot be wicked, or worthless.'

He turned after he said this and left her to think over his words alone. Her lack of action had not been the only things playing on his mind. He was still unsure of the extent of her hand in the witches reign but the abject fear and helplessness she had radiated had shaken his conviction to the core. Her recoiling from him and cut him deeply, she feared him as she feared her assailant. He could not let that continue. She needed no further source of agitation from him.

His dreams had been filled with the image of her disheveled in his arms. He wanted to protect her from the world, she did not belong in it. She was a child in the body of a woman. She had never had the chance to grow. After today though, he realised she needed protecting from herself as well.

Later that night he drifted off to sleep thinking of her tear stained face, her negative words and her ripped dress.


	3. Chapter 3

Time for me to grovel for apologies. Have had the busiest year of my life, Uni is so much work and I have literally had no time to write. I hate that I've made you wait so long for an update but I promise that this story will be finished and the updates will not be months apart this time. I know this chapter is short but I wanted to update tonight.

As always reviews are welcome and I own nothing only the plot and my mistakes

music-loving-penguin _ xxx

That night Azkadellia was sitting alone in her room pondering the words of the younger Cain. His boldness and openness had shocked her. Like his father he was a tactful man and closed off to the world. It was very rare that either of them showed any feeling, usually it was reserved for her younger sister – she had that sort of effect on people. Jeb's emotional outbursts were usually more passionate and were more frequent than his father but that was due to his youth.

She was unsure what to make of his words, whether to take them as truth or as an elaborate lie.

'Why should he have forgiven you, you are the bitch that ruined hi life. On your orders his father was imprisoned. Your general killed his mother. If it wasn't for you he would have know his father and not feel awkward around him,' the witch cackled gleefully.

Azkadellia span around you even though her room was locked and empty. She was definitely alone in her luxurious room, the only movement was the curtains being blown by the open windows.

She caught site of a face in the mirror on her dressing table; the witch was staring back at her.

The witch laughed again cruelly. 'He was lying to you!' he screeched. 'He knows it was you all along. It was your petty jealousy of your sister, your greed and childish contempt that caused his world to be ripped apart.'

'You…you don't know that,' Azkadellia whispered. 'His eyes looked truthful, I saw pity there.'

'You pathetic, foolish girl, you bought his act. He wants you dead. He is trying to get close to you so he can end your pathetic life.'

'But his father…' she trailed off interrupted by the witch.

'The man who you tortured by flaunting him failing to protect his family. The man whose life you stole away,' the mirror screamed. 'Why should he want you to live either?'

'But DG? My parents?' the princess asked, her voice barely audible to even her own ears.

'Why would DG want you to live after you killed her and tried to extinguish her life on countless occasions. You honestly expect your parent to care about you now? Even after you stole their baby girl away – the one they really loved. They all want you gone – you are a hindrance to them. They are only pretending they care to keep their reputations clean.'

Azkidellia backed away from the mirror; her head shaking and her hands clasping her nightgown. Tears left tracks down porcelain cheeks as all her fears and sorrows were voiced by the face in the mirror.

'Why don't you just leave, no one would miss you, nobody would stop you.' The witches face then contorted with anger, 'I was the only one that ever cared what you wanted – you ungrateful wretch. You dared to reject me, the only one who listened to you. You would have been great if you had stayed with me but you ungrateful little bitch; you chose to be weak and helpless. That man was right you deserve to be punished for your betrayal and one day you will get what you deserve.'

As the mirror witch continued to scream abuse at her, Azkadellia collapsed against the wall, overcome by the torment that the verbal abuse evoked.

Her dreams were no place of solitude; they were the filled with the witches voice, her wicked face and her voice coming from Azkadellia's own mouth. She could see the faces of her victims cursing her; the fear in DG's eyes as she tortured her, the poor Seer's whose lives she extinguished. All of them cursing her. All of them threatening, menacing and overwhelming her. They circled her creating a wall of hate from which she could not escape. A curled blonde head could be seen breaking through the circle to get to her. It was Jeb but unlike when he rescued her his face was twisted with hatred and disgust.

As he echoed the worlds of the witch from the mirror, elaborating further on his hatred. The witches mocking laughter floated around her. As she fell to her knees in front of Jeb begging for his forgiveness and blaming the witch the laughter turned into a scream.

'How dare you blame me for acting on your bidding – you know that it was all you.'

On hearing the dream Jeb raised his sword and moved menacingly towards her – no pity now just malice and hatred in his eyes. She began screaming her apologies to him, trying to drown out the accusations of the invisible witch. She seemed to be making little impact on Jeb who was now standing over her, his sword held high above his head. As he swung the sword downwards the witch triumphantly screamed, 'I told you he lied to you.'

As the sword made contact Azkadellia jumped awake from her horrendous nightmare. She found herself lying on the floor of her chamber, covered in a cold sweat, tears streaming down her face and her throat hoarse from screaming. There was a loud banging as the door to her room was broken down and Raw and Jeb burst into her room.

Raw rushed forward to comfort the princess, cradling her in his arms as her father had done. His soft words trying to dispel the harsh ones of the witch.

'She only speaks lies. She not tell the truth. She is wicked and only wants you to hurt.'

'But she's still here, that means I'm… I'm still wicked. Doesn't it?'

'She's not here, there's only wounds, memories, echoes.'

'They're so real' she sobbed, shaking uncontrollably with fear.

'Princess, the witch was destroyed during toe double eclipse, we saw it happen,' Jeb calmly stated. At his words the princess whimpered, curling in on herself in Raw's arms.

Confused Jeb took a step towards her but when that elicited another distressed moan he stopped and took a few steps backwards. This did not seem to calm nor distress the princess further so he stayed where he was.

Still unsure as to why he was a cause of distress for the princess, he decided to stay and watch Raw. He felt extremely helpless and more than a little uneasy but he dared not leave until he knew what he had done. As far as he was concerned the princess and he had never been on better terms. Even if his questions had insulted her there was no reason for his presence to elicit that response.

Raw eventually managed to calm Azkadellia enough for her to stop crying and slip into an exhausted sleep though she still clutched tightly to him. He stood up from the floor and carried her to the bed lying her on it.

He pressed his hand gently to her forehead, "She dreams no more tonight.'

He stood back and walked out of the room, Jeb following closely behind him pulling the now broken door closed.

'You were in her dreams, she is scared of you because of what you did in them,' Raw stated without having to be asked.

'What did I do?'

'Not for me to tell you, not my dream.' With that Raw left the bemused young man standing staring at the princesses door.

Jeb took a step back and leaned against the wall. With the door broken somebody should stay and guard the chamber and going to find someone would leave it unwatched.

'Guess it's going to be me then,' Jeb muttered to himself.

He sat down on the cold marble floor, back against the wall and tried to occupy his mind to keep him awake. He devised training schedules, hierarchies even insignia but his mind kept wandering back to the older princess.

He could not imagine how on the day he told her she was innocent in his eyes only a matter of hours later she was more scared of him than when he had rescued her. He did not know what he had done in her dreams but it had deeply affected the princess.

His first instinct on hearing her screams had been to protect her and he had rushed to her chambers. However once he arrived he realised how superfluous he was. Raw had everything under control and he barely knew the crying woman lying before him. He had no idea how to comfort her. He cursed his own stupidity thinking he could have been any use in that situation.

Her reaction to him had stung, even more so than the first time she recoiled from him. The first time he had still been unsure of the princess, it wasn't until he heard the conviction in her voice when she said she should be punished that he totally believed in her innocence.

He knew it must be hard for her as well, seeing the people who had tried so hard to kill her every day. People who had devoted their lives to her downfall walking around in her home, protecting her; he could only imagine how terrified she must have been.

Some people he knew still hated her just because she was easy to blame. His resistance friends who were serving in the army and now his new task force still despised her. Not because she was a threat, or because she was powerful but because they believed she had not suffered. Jeb now knew that was a lie. To still be hearing her voice four months after her death. To have heard it constantly tormenting you for years. He had lost everything in the fight against the Sorceress, though his father had now returned to him, he still believed her to have suffered more.

As his eyes began to flutter closed his mind drifted back to the day he had held her briefly in his arms, the heat that radiated from her, how light she was. How could something so delicate and beautiful have housed something so ugly?

He thought of the fear in her eyes when she looked at him. The hurt when he had snubbed her in front of her family. The way she put herself down, how little she thought of herself. He decided in his last moments of consciousness that he had to make peace with the princess and help her to heal. He hoped that somehow that would allow him to move on and escape his past also.

As he slept against the wall outside her chambers his dreams were far from pleasant; full of Zero, Tin Men and his mother screams mingling with the terrified whimpers of the young princess.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, thanks to those that read/reviewed the last chapter and I again apologise in it's huge delay.

Hope people like the way the plot and characters are developing and constructive criticism is really welcome. I didn't want to keep you waiting for an update so there may be a few errors in this chapter and I apologise in advance for that

I own nothing just this plot.

* * *

Azkadellia awoke early from her nightmare induced slumber, the suns' rays only just pushing past her bedchamber curtains. She did not linger in her luxurious bed but rose quickly and prepared herself for the difficult day ahead. She knew everybody would be on edge around her today expecting another meltdown. Raw would never be more than a room away from her which was a comforting thought but all she wanted to do was talk to DG and curl up in her father's arms.

She paused in her morning routine to watch the suns break from behind the clouds and rise fully to their majestic glory. She shuddered as she thought how close they had been to never rising again.

The mirror witch's words echoed through her head once again, 'He wants you dead!' She could still see Jeb's eyes in her dream, cold and hard, and the pain and sadness it brought almost overwhelmed her. She sank onto the bed desperately trying to hold back the tears and reminds herself it was all a dream.

She managed to calm herself enough to continue dressing so she could venture to the palace kitchens, hoping to avoid Jeb for as long as possible. She had been so sure that he was being truthful but the dream had shaken her conviction and deeply frightened her. The image of him swinging a sword at her was not far from her conscious thoughts and the longer she could postpone meeting him face to face the better.

Though she would not admit it to anyone, not even to DG, that the real reason Jeb's disdain had hurt her more than most, why he had such an effect on her was that she was quite taken with the younger Cain. She had convinced herself her feelings would pass and nothing would ever come of them but his actions and kind, honest words had briefly kindled hope. This was why the mirror witch had focused on Jeb as had her dream. Using him was the easiest way to unsettle her.

She knew deep down that her family did not hate her, their everyday interactions and the care they showed her proved that. She even doubted the claims the mirror witch made about Wyatt Cain by the light of day. Her positive interactions with Jeb had been so few and she knew so little of him personally that she was easily persuaded that his hatred still burned strong.

She had seen the pain in his eyes after the eclipse, she had heard the harrowing tales of his life and briefly seen the evidence of his physical scars on her walks past the training fields. She knew his story too well it seemed, it made it harder for her to move on. She felt fate cruel for making the man she fell for the man whose life she had destroyed. Everybody had gained something from the deposition of the witch, Jeb had only gained a tense awkward relationship with his father.

She pinned the final lock of her hair in place before she exited her chamber still wrapped in her thoughts.

When her eyes fell on the sleeping man outside the door it took her a second to get over her shock and register the curly blonde hair and the athletic build. She backed away into her room, her hand smothering her silent scream of horror. Her dream had been correct, why else would Jeb be sleeping there unless he wanted to kill her. Her movements seemed to have roused him for his eyes opened and locked onto the startled face of the princess.

'Azkadellia!' he cried reaching a hand out towards her in an action intended by him to reassure her it was totally misinterpreted by the princess. She continued to back into the room but more quickly now, she stumbled and fell backwards catching her head on the bed as she did so.

Through her dazed brain she heard running feet and saw Jeb's face appear above hers. She cried out and continued to try to move but the pain in her head was too great and it was futile; he was going to catch her.

She felt his strong hands fasten around her frail wrists to end her escape and his confused face was once more above hers. He reached down to touch her swimming head but she flinched away from him. She looked up again and registered the obvious hurt in his eyes. He reached out to touch her again more slowly and brushed her now tangled hair from her face. He lifted her slowly and gently so she was sitting against the foot of her bed and held her steady as the room swam around her.

She would not let her eyes meet his, still unsure of whether he meant her harm and she was also deeply embarrassed that he had seen her in yet another compromising position.

He reached and stroked her forearm before bring up the previous night's dream.

'Last night you recoiled from me and you did the same again this morning though I have explicitly told you that I mean you no harm. Raw mentioned that I was in your dreams last night but it was not his place to tell me what part I played in them.' He left this hanging in the air, studying the princess intently for her reaction. She bowed her head further and tears began seeping from her closed eyes/

'Princess, what can I have done in your dreams to make you so terrified of me now? You can't even look at me!' he exclaimed.

She could not immediately answer his question, the anguish in his voice had only served to amplify her confusion, guilt and fears. The tears began falling more heavily and she was soon uncontrollably sobbing into his shirt as he held her in his strong arms. At first his embrace struck fear into her heart and her body stiffened on instinct in anticipation of pain. None was forthcoming however and his soothing murmurs and tender touch caused her to relax.

She sat back from him, freeing herself from his arms so she could see his reaction to her words. She took a deep breath to try and clear her spinning mind before explaining her most recent episode.

'The witch was in my mirror last night, telling me the words you had spoken to me earlier that day in the music room had been lies, that my family secretly hated and you all resented me enough to want me dead. He screams and laughter drove me over the edge and I fainted but I was still not free of her. I was surrounded by my.. her.. my victims who were all glaring at me and accusing me of the crimes I committed against them. DG was there and she looked terrified of me. You. You were also there and you pushed your way to get to me. You explicitly told me of what I had done to you and you echoed her words and elaborated on your hatred. She blamed me for everything, and you, oh I begged your forgiveness but you didn't listen. You were carrying a sword and you swung it at me as she screeched with laughter. As the sword struck me I woke up screaming.'

A new flood of tears was somewhat successfully held back by the young princess as Jeb digested the information that she had just relayed. She turned her eyes upwards and looked fully at him for the first time since her fall. His facial expression changed from shock to anger to confusion in quick succession as understanding dawned.

'I killed you, you believed I was going to kill you, that is why you recoiled,' he tried to calmly state but his jaw was clenched and she could see his anger bubbling. He got up and walked a few step away from the bed.

He turned to look at Azkadellia again, 'I told you I meant you no harm, I rescued you from that traitor, I slept outside you door to guard you,' he snarled. At his sudden outburst the princess let at a frightened moan and tried to move further away from him but her disorientation allowed her only to retreat into her bed.

Jeb cursed himself mentally for letting his frustration get the better of him before he walked to the edge of the bed and knelt before her.

'I promise you princess that I would never accuse you of HER crimes, they were not yours. You do not deserve to be put through any of this torture and I vow to you now that the pain caused by you fear of me shall not continue. And I swear to you that I am your loyal subject and as such I will honour and protect you. I will do all that I can to banish me from your nightmares.'

He bowed his head before standing and meeting her eyes. Words failed Azkadellia but she mutely nodded in response to his candid outburst. His word had reassured her if not totally convinced her of his intentions towards her.

Before he turned to leave he reached out to brush a lingering tear from her cheek with a gentle touch that caused the princess to blush.

Once her chamber door was closed behind him he returned to his chamber to begin his day properly. He rested on his bed a moment to think over the events of the night before and the previous morning.

'The witches worst crime was tainting and breaking something so delicate and beautiful forcing her to live in the shadows when she deserves to shine in the bright light of day,' Jeb muttered to himself.

Though almost disbelievingly at first Jeb had began falling for the princess Azkadellia when he returned to the Northern Palace. He had still hated her then and the unwelcome thoughts of her comely figure had been battered aside. When his convictions began to change he continued to fall deeper but it didn't hurt any less to dwell on them. She was a princess and who was he, a commoner and comparatively a nobody. Just another resistance leader. Yes he ad been honoured by the Queen and he got on well with the Prince Consort but he doubted whether they valued him enough to let him court their eldest daughter.

He sighed in frustration at the situation. A year ago he would have been deeply insulted to have been accused of loving Azkadellia but now it was all he could do. If he had any control over the situation he would banish the feelings and leave the princess to the royal family but seeing the woman he yearned for in such distress was heart breaking for him.

When she had explained her dream he had felt all hope slip away from him. What ever he did from then on could only improve the situation but he would always know that he had caused her that pain and distress. He desperately needed her to heal that wound because it was slowly killing him as he saw it destroy her.

He did not know yet how he would keep his promise to her but he knew he would find a way, if he did not succeed he knew that life would remain almost unbearable for both of them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Quick update this time, had an idea and wrote it up before it disappeared**

The Royal party returned to the Northern Palace two morning after Azkadellia awoke to find Jeb asleep at her chamber door. Raw had informed them of her attack and they had cut the visit to Central City short.

They were surprised at how calm she seemed even though her attack had been a severe one.

DG cornered into her room after the official welcoming ceremony had ended.

'Azkadee!' she cried as she wrapped her arms around her sister. 'What happened, you had been doing so well after the attack in the stables. If I had known that this would happen I would have fought harder with mother to let me stay behind. I feel just horrible.'

'I was doing fine Deeg, I just… just had a nightmare that's all,' her sister chided.

'Azkadee, you know you can't lie to me, something more has happened that you are not telling me. What was it about?'

'That you, mother, father, Mr. Cain and well everybody else hated me secretly. You were all there taunting me, telling me what she did through me and blaming me for it all. It was overwhelming and terrifying Deeg.'

'No, that is not it; you've told me about that one before. Something was different this time, something has changed.'

Azkadellia looked uneasily away from her sister before she continued.

'It was a few days after you left for Central City, I still had not seen Jeb since the day of my attack. I was sitting in the music room and Jeb came in to ask Raw about recruits and after he left to screen them Jeb stayed to talk with me. He asked me why I did not use my magic to protect myself from my attacker. When I explained that I am scared of my magic and no longer wanted to use it to hurt people he did not seem satisfied. He questioned me further so I asked him why he believed I should be protected.'

Azkadellia stopped in telling her story to analyse her sister's expression.

'What did he do to you? Why must he insist on torturing you further?' DG cried, mistaking her sister's pause for one of discomfort.

'He didn't do anything bad to me Deeg!' Az cried at her sister, shocked by the assumption. 'He saved me remember.'

'That doesn't mean anything, he was only doing that because it was what his father would expect of him.'

'Deeg, he told me I was not wicked or worthless and that I was no threat to the O.Z.'

DG was silent for a moment turning her sister's words over in her head.

'So he finally has accepted this then, does this mean that we can expect no more snide comments or sarcastic remarks then?'

'No he had been nothing but civil and even courteous ever since. He even arrived to comfort me after my nightmare…' Azkadellia's sentence trailed off.

'Was Jeb in your dream?'

'Yes, well he's always been in them blaming me for the separation from his father and the death of his mother.'

'Is that not what he did this time?' DG asked confused.

'Yes he did but then he went on to further express his absolute hatred of me, blaming me for more than he had before. He stepped out of the crowd this time and his voice was clearer. He was standing right in front of me. He got so angry in the dream that he, well he, killed me.

DG recoiled in shock; 'But why after he told you that he thought you no threat would he kill you in your dream.'

'I saw the witch's face in my mirror, it's what caused me to faint. She spewed words of hate and bitterness and she focused mainly on what Jeb thought of me.'

'But why Jeb, surely me or mother would have caused you more pain.'

Azkadellia paused before she answered, still unprepared to admit to another what she could barely admit to herself. The hesitation did not go unnoticed by her sister.

'I think that it is because his confession of belief was so recent and so new that it was easy for her to persuade me he believed otherwise. You know I have had my doubts about him since he returned.'

DG knew her sister was hiding something, she had never been privy to why Jeb had such a sway over Azkadellia. She decided not to push the issue seeing the unease on her sister's face, deciding that when she needed to know Az would tell her. She decided to ask a different question.

'What happened when you woke up?'

'Jeb and Raw ran in to comfort me but the dream was so real I was of Jeb and recoiled from him. He spent the night sleeping outside my door as he knew I was vulnerable. When I awoke the next morning and saw him I assumed he had come to kill me.'

'I didn't hear about any of this from mother, does she even know about it?'

'No I asked Raw not to tell her, it would reflect badly on Jeb and may harm the new program of resistance members.'

'Do you think that this is wise?'

'DG you can't understand this, please trust me I know he means me no harm, it is just my guilt colouring my dreams.'

'How can you be so sure?'

'He swore his persona allegiance to me,' Azkadellia cried then proceeded to blush furiously. DG could barely contain her glee, 'Oh Az, what does this mean, is it going to lead to something?'

'Of course not, he swore himself to me as a loyal citizen of the O.Z. He told me that I need not fear him and that he would protect and honor me.'

DG smiled inwardly at her sister's naïvety but she knew it was not her place to enlighten her.

'Has he spoken to you since?'

'No I have not seen him, he has been so busy briefing and training the new arrivals. There have been a steady stream of resistance members arriving since you left.'

DG smiled to herself again as she allowed her sister to change the conversation away from the young Cain.

Wyatt Cain found his son in the training ground working out his frustrations on a training dummy. He sat patiently watching the man his son had grown into; his pride mingled with regrets. His son was a skilled and accomplished fighter as well as a great leader, there was no doubt about that. He just wished that Jeb had not had to live the life of hardship and secrecy that got him there.

Once his son had vented enough of his anger he turned and registered his father's presence.

'Missed you at the ceremony this morning,' his father stated matter-of-factly.

'New recruits arrived at dawn, I was still briefing them.' Jeb replied.

The older man nodded; 'Have there been many arrivals?'

'The five this morning make it exactly fifty.'

'Hmm, it's not enough to protect the whole of the O.Z. but it is a start and will allow us to give aid to the at risk and high priority areas.'

'It has only been two weeks father, give it time for the news to spread. Those that have already arrived have more contacts. Once loyalty and trust have been installed into these new recruits more will trust us and come forward.'

Cain nodded to himself again and walked towards his son, concern evident in his eyes.

'You seem on edge, I hope that this command is not proving too stressful or that it is not bringing back too many memories for you.'

'NO!' Jeb cried angrily. 'I fought for the freedom of the O.Z., I want to maintain it so my children do not have to grow up as I did.' He saw the hurt and the pain slide across his father's face. He instantly regretted his hasty words.

'I don't blame you father, I admire you for your part in the downfall of the witch. I know that we both wish that my upbringing had been different but there is nothing we can do about it. We can only ensure that the future of the O.Z. is a better than it's past and that it contains safety and security.'

Wyatt waited for his son's anger to abate before he rested a hand on his shoulder. He broke the awkward silence by saying, 'Nobody could do this better than you Jeb, I would not dream of taking this away from you.'

Jeb turned to look at his father and was gratified with a rare smile.

'Something has got under your skin since I left, that's for sure.'

'Azkadellia,' muttered Jeb.

'Jeb I have been telling you since you arrived that she was innocent and that she had been possessed…'

Jeb interrupted his father mid lecture, not wishing to hear it all again unnecessarily.

'I know that father, I can see it now. I was in her nightmare, the one that brought you all back from Central City early. I killed her. Taunted her then killed her.'

Wyatt took a moment to process the news, the shock evident on his face. His son's attitude to the elder princess had been changing slowly since the attack but it had changed drastically since he had left for Central City. He turned a questioning look on his son.

'Seeing her so distraught. She was terrified of me,' Jeb cried. 'She looked at me like she looked at that worthless bastard that cornered her and abused her.'

Jeb began to pace around in frustration and his father watched him intently.

'I can't let her be scared of me when I am supposed to be protecting her.'

'I'm afraid that I cannot help you with that son, the best people to talk to would be Raw and DG; unlike me they know the working of Azkadellia's mind.'

He bid his son farewell and walked back to the palace musing over their conversation and what he had observed. He had not seen that passion and intensity in Jeb's eyes since he had been hunting Zero.

That look could only mean one thing and he wondered if Jeb even truly knew the extent that he was in love with the elder of the two princesses. He highly doubted it, Jeb was a man of action not words and if he were completely sure of himself he would be acting on his feelings. He ultimately felt happy that like him, his son was still capable of love after all the years of hardship. He knew there would be complications and repercussions but he also knew that they would be good fro each other, she a woman that had remained a child and he a man that had never truly been one.

He banished the thought of Jeb and Azkadellia from his mind as he saw DG beaming running from the palace towards him. He did not trust his face incase it betrayed him, it had a tendency to do that when she was around.

'What's got you so happy?' he asked smiling at her exuberance.

'I could ask you the same question,' she smartly retorted.

'Oh nothing, just finally seeing the O.Z. on the mend.'

'Same,' she replied linking her arm with his as they proceeded to walk the palace gardens, their minds drifting to the O.Z. of the future and the new challenges it would present.

**Please Review I find them really helpful :) xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Own nothing but the plot and all mistakes are my own**

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Jeb left the training grounds soon after his father and reached the palace in time to see his him walking arm in arm with DG towards the palace gardens. He felt unfamiliar anger boiling inside of him that confused him deeply. He hurried to his chambers to change after the heavy training session and to try to organize his mind.

He tried to establish what caused him to feel anger towards the blissfully happy couple. He did not feel that DG was replacing his mother as he knew it was impossible. He knew that his father was incapable of disrespecting his mother's memory and that Adora had been dead to him for many years. He knew that his mother would approve the match, she would not have wanted his father to have spent the rest of his life cold and distant and DG was slowly melting his icy exterior. Why then the anger had burned, he did not know.

He sat on the end of his bed staring at the wall mind wandering when a small niggling thought at the back of his mind managed to get his full attention.

Jealousy. He was jealous of his father and DG's relationship and it had manifested itself as anger. He could not think why it had so suddenly appeared but he guessed it was something to do with his life being more settled and that he himself had never really had the opportunity to find love. This satisfied him and he did not proceed with the train of thought, worried by the conclusions he would draw from it.

Pushing the thought of love from his mind he made his way to the palace kitchens to feed the hunger he had worked up.

Azkadellia had remained in her chambers after the departure of her sister and her thoughts had returned to Jeb and his promises. She had been able to tell by the look on her sisters face that she had not believed the line about loyalty. She did not dare to dream that Jeb had meant anything more by his promise because those sort of dreams would ultimately lead to more hurt and she had enough of that already. Why would Jeb want somebody like her, how could Jeb love her. Even if he did not blame her, she still had the face of the sorceress.

Jeb was very popular among the ladies of the court and the palace. His handsome face and piercing blue eyes attracted a lot of attention, especially since his father had become off limits. He could have a pick of any single lady in the palace and a few that were already taken, why would he choose her.

She sighed and turned to look out the window over the grounds and caught a glimpse of her sister walking arm and arm with Wyatt.

A pang of hurt shot through her chest and tears welled up from deep inside her. Unlike Jeb she knew the source of her strong emotions and wept bitterly as she thought that she would never have what they had. She had been tainted by the evil of the witch too long to ever be loved like that, especially by the man she would have love her. Her wracking sobs stained her cheeks with tears while she hid behind her long unbound hair.

She did not hear somebody cautiously open her chamber door and walk slowly and silently across the room so not to startle her. A hand was placed softly on her shoulder and she felt the warmth radiate through her body.

She looked up to see Raw smiling sadly down at her.

'Azkadee should not be so sad, she not know what future holds. Raw sees her happy and in love. Azkadee should not cry, have good friends, people who want to help. Nobody is beyond love.'

With these words spoken the Seer left her chambers as quietly as he had entered them. Azkadellia hoped and prayed to the gods that his words were true because despite herself trying to repress it, the pain of her unreturned love was eating away at her threatening to plunge her back into her nightmare filled existence. It seemed that the more hope she had the worse she felt as it had become plausible that Jeb could return her affection.

It was easier to bear when he seemingly despised her for there was no hope and she could easily dismiss her feelings for there was no room to dream. Now though, the glimmer of light was tantalising and she could not help but let her mind run away with her no matter how hard she fought against it.

She managed to temporarily repress the day dreams of her and Jeb arm in arm; sighing as she left the warmth and happiness it contained and re-entered her cold reality.

She decided some fresh air would help clear her mind so she made her way to the palace grounds and deliberately walked in the opposite direction to the gardens, taking the less worn path around the lake.

As she walked she caught a glimpse of blonde in the distance walking on the opposite side of the lake. She assumed it was her sister and Wyatt and though she did not wish to disturb them she could only walk closer to them as she was more than half way round the lake.

Jeb was also taking advantage in the lull in his schedule to walk in the grounds. No more new recruits had arrived that morning so he had some time to himself. He had decided to make his way to the lake as he was unlikely to see his father and DG walking together.

As he watched the clear surface of the water his thoughts returned to the emotions of the morning. He still would not accept the thought that came from deep inside him that Azkadellia was the reason of the newfound jealousy.

He tried to reason with himself but all answers pointed back to the elder princess. He sighed and sat down at the waters edge, surrounded by the long grass and reeds.

He stared at his reflection in the water and could only see his young but tired face and his blue eyes that seemed to belong to a much older man.

He wished he was older, or wiser, or maybe just more experienced for then he would know how to deal with his feelings.

"How can I do anything with them if she is petrified of me?" he mentally asked himself.

"How can I do anything anyway, she is a princess and I'm just a soldier."

The futility of his situation overcame him and caused him to cry out in anger and in pain. Tears burnt his eyes though he did not let them fall and brushed them away.

Azkadellia had drawn closer to Jeb's seat among the reeds and had heard the cry of despair. She had lost sight of the blonde head as she had rounded the long sloping curve of the lake and had assumed she was once again alone on the path.

She hurried forward to see who was in distress. She briefly thought that whoever cried out could mean her harm briefly flitted through her mind but she pushed them aside, her good heart driving her forward.

She was shocked when she parted the reeds to find Jeb sitting on the ground rubbing his eyes.

At the sound of the stems parting her sprang up into a defensive stance but seeing that it was Azkadellia he quickly relaxed and converted it into a shallow bow.

'Princess.'

'Captain,' she responded matching his civil tone.

An awkward silence hung between them, both thinking of all the compromising situations they had been in together these past few weeks.

'May I escort you back to the palace?' Jeb heard his mouth ask without any conscious input from his brain.

He saw the small flicker in her eyes before she accepted. He reasoned that now was as good a time as any to start keeping his promise though he still had no real idea of how he would help mend something that was so broken.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was slightly smiling and a slight blush was gracing her cheeks. Her raven hair flowed loosely down her back and moved with the gentle breeze. Her eyes seemed to be alive not dull and pain filled as they usually were.

'You look beautiful,' he whispered, not actually meaning to say the words aloud.

Her head shot up and looked straight at him, shock evident on her features.

'I am sorry your highness,' he blurted hanging his head, 'I meant not to offend you but you seem to be happy and that light… I haven't seen you… you radiate it.'

Azkadellia was unsure how to respond. It was her wildest dream and worst nightmare happening at once. She was completely out of her depth and unsure how to respond.

'Thank you... Captain,' she stuttered.

The walked on in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again.

'I have not been happy for a long time, at least when my family have not been present. It is nice to know that I have found friends in Raw, your father and of course reacquainting myself with Amb.. Glitch.'

Jeb felt a little stung by his exclusion from the list.

'Do you not consider me a friend, princess?'

'My friends do not refer to me as princess or your highness unless it is a formal occasion and I do believe this is the first real conversation we have had where I have not been scared, confused or totally lost.'

Jeb nodded silently and a sad smile crossed his face. They had reached the palace doors and he knew their conversation must end as his duty and her lessons called. He bid her goodbye courteously and began to walk away.

'Jeb,' Azkadellia called out from behind him; 'In the future please refer to me as Azkadellia, I do not see the need for such formality between friends.'

Queen Lavender and her consort Ahamo were looking out of the drawing room window at their eldest daughter as she ran up the steps and into the palace.

As small frown could be seen on her father's brow framed by his graying hair.

'Are you sure we should let this continue, we cannot risk Azkadellia getting hurt she is still far too fragile.'

His wife smiled at him and placed her cool hand on his troubled brow.

'I can think of no one better for our daughter. He has as many reasons to hate her as many and more than some yet he still has chosen her even if he does not know it. Raw tells me he is distressed by her pain and is determined to help her overcome her demons.'

'But he is a soldier, they are not known for their subtlety and kindness.'

'Next time you are with him and Azkadellia look at the way he looks at her when he thinks you are not watching. I first saw it a long time ago, long before he would admit anything to himself. Remember dear, you were a magician on the other side and they are not know for political prowess or strategic minds.'

'If you are sure my heart then I agree and if you have seen it, it must be so.'

'A boy that had to become a man to young and a woman that never got to be a girl; they complement each other perfectly,' the Queen mused as she looked out over the lake.

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**All reviews welcome xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**All mistakes are mine and unfortunately I own nothing but the plot**

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Azkadellia struggled to suppress her smile as she walked around the palace in the few days after her walk with Jeb. Though she barely saw Jeb, who was extremely busy training the recruits, whenever she did see him polite conversation ensued.

Jeb felt he was making real headway with the princess who no longer recoiled from him but was visibly pleased to see him. He had heard from his father and the general talk around the palace that she had been much more lively and her nightmares had greatly diminished. Very few people had been able to concoct a plausible explanation but everybody seemed less on edge now the elder princess was less likely to break down.

DG cornered her sister one afternoon in the library where she had been reading and started to question her.

'Azkadee, you have to tell me what's got into you,' she whined. It was about her hundredth time of asking and she got the same response that she had on the first.

'Nothing has got "into me" Deeg, whatever that means. I just feel much more like myself and a lot less like her

'Well something must have happened, this feeling can't have just appeared over night. I've been trying for ages to get you to feel this way and let everybody see the real you.'

'How do you know your efforts have not paid off?' Azkadellia asked to try and halt the questioning.

'If it was me I have no idea what I did! I have a pretty good idea that Jeb Cain is involved on this somehow.'

Azkadellia was unable to hide the blush that rushed to her cheeks.

'It does have something to do with him!' DG squealed. 'I knew it. Oh, Az you have to tell me what happened.'

'Nothing really happened. I met him as I was walking around the lake and he escorted me back to the palace. We talked a little and he seemed keen to know if I considered him a friend.'

'I bet he was keen,' DG leered, 'Keen for something more as well.'

'I highly doubt it DG. Raw told me that Jeb was upset after I pulled away from him, I think he wanted to make sure I wouldn't do it again, that he had kept his promise.'

DG opened her mouth to tell her sister that Jeb Cain was obviously smitten with her but something in her mind told her to hold her tongue. Her sister had never experienced love and needed to work this out on her own.

'So you and Jeb are friends now?' She was hopeful but skeptical, it hadn't been very long ago Jeb had been sniping away at her sister but he had changed a lot in that time.

'I think so.. at least I hope so; it would make everything so much easier.'

DG soon left her sister alone to read to take her now customary afternoon walk with Wyatt.

Jeb was making plans with Glitch about the placement of the first forty Royal Scouts as they had now been officially named. The recruitment had been very successful and now the barracks housed two hundred Scout recruits as well as various companies of the regular army and the Gale Forcers.

The majority of the forty were resistance members that had been in Jeb's camp and new their abilities well already. The majority of their training had been freshening up their fighting, teaching them tactics and horse riding. Though most could ride already many were rusty as the resistance rarely used horses.

'How goes the training of the others?' Glitch asked after finalising the placements.

Most of the other Scouts were resistance members but a few regular army and civilians had signed up.

'It goes well though as in every organization we have our trouble makers.'

All the recruits believed in the witch and her possession of the elder princess, those that did not were instantly turned away. The problem arose with those that were under the impression that Azkadellia had sought out the witch or had willingly let her in. Those recruits that had been around longest had heard the stories and opinions began to sway but there were the stubborn few that refused to sway.

'There is one recruit, goes by the name of Banon, that proves very difficult. He was, or claims to be one of the deep cover agents and tells all that will listen the atrocities that he saw under the witche's rule. The old hands seriously doubt him, he draws too much attention to be a spy but her certainly knows a lot. Raw says that his mind is clear of malice but he is definitely up to something.'

The new civilian recruits were by a rule young impressionable lad that had decided to join up rather that work on the family farm or some other manual labor. Banon and his followers prayed on these and slowly turned the more impressionable against Azkadellia.

This lead to unwelcome questions in training sessions which made them awkward. Jeb was always unsure when the next one would come and which mouth it would come from. He knew that his explanations sounded poor but the only way he could prove anything to them was to expose them to Azkadellia. He knew she was not ready for that ordeal and it would shatter all his hard work.

He did his best to keep the peace and his friends among the Scouts helped to spread the good word but Banon still maintained a small band of followers.

'Why don't you kick him out?' Glitch question.

'If he left he would take a least half company with him which would only leave us with four complete companies and new recruits have almost stopped arriving. With the population so decimated it is a miracle we have as many as we do now.'

'He has that much support?'

'He appears to, how many would actually leave with him at once I cannot say but those that are left behind would still pose a problem.'

Jeb left the royal advisor to draw up the plans in royal doctrine and present them to the Queen and her Consort in his meeting with them that evening.

He made his way to the mess hall of the barrack, drawn there by the smell of food and the sound of friendly banter. He missed the noise of army life, the palace was too quiet. He missed his friends and the Scouts were a great way of seeing them all again. Why did this man have to come along and stir up trouble.

A scream followed by many shouting voice could be heard from the mess hall and Jeb quickened his pace to a run to see what was going on.

He burst through the door to see Banon standing over one his old army comrades, his face red and eyes white with anger.

The man on the floor, Janes had been part of his original command in the army and they had got on very well. Janes was extremely loyal and had believed the story about Azkadellia from the off though he was not gullible or easily swayed. Jeb had once judged him for that belief but it had not got in the way of there friendship.

'Somebody tell me what the HELL is going on in here!' his father bellowed as he entered the mess hall.

He marched up to Banon and grabbed him by the collar. The man turned around swinging but his punch met thin air and his stomach met the fist of Wyatt Cain. He fell to the ground moaning in agony before he was dragged back up to a hunched standing position.

'He knifed Janes sir, in the arm. He was bad mouthing Scout Commander Cain, sir and Janes called him a liar. Banon went mental, grabbed his knife and launched himself at poor Janes,' piped up fresh faced lad who was kneeling by the bleeding man.

'Is he breathing?' Jeb cried, as he rushed to his friends side.

'Yes Commander sir, but only just. Not conscious either sir.'

Jeb looked up to identify the lad and met the hazel eyes of a new recruit who he vaguely remembered came from the eastern farmlands. He had been one of Banons lot and during his first training session had asked a particularly scathing question about Azkadellia. Jeb saw fear in his eyes that had unshed tears in their corners.

'You any good a first aid?'

'Yes sir, helped me dad with the cows on the farm sir.'

'Then help this man for me now. I need four strong men to carry him on a table to the infirmary quickly,' Jeb ordered. Four men in army uniform rushed forward to aid their fallen brother and Jeb watched them carefully place Janes on a table and carry him away followed by the young lad.

He turned his attention back to Banon who was escorted being escorted by Gale Forcers to the barrack's small jail. His father walking behind them turned and motioned for him to follow.

'He was questioning your leadership and your methods calling into account all your repeated answers about the princesses and your lack of forthcoming evidence that Azkadellia was innocent in regards to her possession. Your friend did indeed call him a liar and began defending you when he was attacked.'

Jeb was silent, lips tightly shut. He was trying to suppress the anger, forcing himself not to lash out at the retreating back of Banon.

'He will be expelled from the Scout's immediately as he has broken their code and prevented from joining any other security force I shall see to that,' Wyatt stated. 'Why didn't you tell me there was trouble in the ranks Jeb?'

Jeb looked up and saw disappointment in his father's eyes which crushed him. Anger he could have dealt with but not disappointment.

'He will stand trial in the morning and the Queen will decide his fate,' his father added before walking away not waiting for his son to answer him.

Jeb was distraught, he had spent his whole life trying to love up to his father's example and do the things that would have made him proud. He was not sure why he did not go to his father for advice; maybe it was pride, maybe it was that he was too scared to admit he had a problem with his men. He had never had a problem before. A small niggling feeling told him that it was because he had become so emotionally involved with Azkadellia he had been unable to deal with people criticising or bad mouthing her and it had skewed his judgment.

He ran into the lad he had sent to look after Janes and he reported that he had stopped bleeding and had passed into normal sleep.

'That Banon sir, he's mad sir. We all thought he was a bit mental from being undercover so long but I doubt that he was now. He laughed as he stabbed him sir, and that laugh wasn't healthy. Nobody that snapped so easy could be a spy'

At least that problem had gone away, Banon had managed to scare his own support away. He had a new problem now, how to prove to his father that he could handle his own men.

Unthinkingly his feet took him to the library where he knew it would be quiet and he would be able to sit and think.

He was surprised to find Azkadellia sitting at the large central table surrounded by books on just about everything. The sight of her lightened his heart slightly but it did nothing to lift the weight from his mind.

Azkadellia looked up to see Jeb and the stressed look on his face and the pain in his eyes.

'What's happened?' she enquired rushing up to him. Jeb explained the situation in the mess hall though his silence on the subject of Banon's complaints about him spoke more than he would have wanted it to. He went on to explain his brief encounter with his father and the pain that it had caused him.

Azkadellia had never had anybody but DG open up to her like this and bare their very soul to her. She couldn't help but smile that it was Jeb who had trusted her enough to do so.

He had bent his head into his hands on the table to hide the tears that fell silently down his cheeks. Azkadellia ran her hand soothingly over his back and brushed the hair from his eyes when he looked up at her.

He saw the concern in her eyes and felt the kindness in her touch and combined they kindled a fire that his willpower had tried to keep at bay.

He leant forward swiftly and pressed his lips to hers for a chaste gentle kiss. He moved to pull away as his brain registered what he was doing but the hand that had been stroking his back was now in his hair and Azkadellia had leant into his body.

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**Reviews are always appreciated xx**


	8. Chapter 8

Again I am forced to apologise for the horrendously long wait on thus chapter, have been finding it hard to balance uni with my other hobbies and coupled with writer's block it has meant my fics have been sadly neglected. Now my first semester is over I'm attempting to rectify this.

Again so sorry for the long wait, hope you like how the story continues.

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DG and Wyatt were taking their customary walk around the lake, though a little later than usual as there had been trouble with one of the Scout recruits. DG was eager for the gossip, she was finding that life in the place could be just as boring as back on the farm on the otherside.

'The army man is stable now, sleeping in the Infirmary and the hearing is set for tomorrow morning which will be judged by your mother and father along with the senior army officers, Glitch and Raw. I punishment for undermining an officer and attacking another service men are sever enough charges but add treason to that mix and that is a list that no man would want hanging over his head.'

'What do you expect he will

' for the military offences he will get discharged and a long prison sentence; as for the treason ... If he's lucky he'll get banished and if not...'

The sentence was left to hang unfinished in the air. DG gulped hard, she knew some states still used the death penalty but only for severe charges such as murder. She never expect that a man could be killed for bad mouthing her sister. She wasn't entirely sure she agreed with it but if it would keep her family safe then it had to be done. They could not risk an attack, what with the O.Z. still so fragile after the reign of the witch, another political upheaval would be disastrous.

DG tried to turn the conversation to how Jeb was dealing with all that had happened but the older Cain was unwilling to yield and talk about his son. He went back to the Cain she had first rescued from the Tin Man suit, quite and distant. She felt a little hurt that he could not share his thoughts with her, she had told him everything about her past and how she was coping in this new world.

He could see the pain in her eyes but he could not talk about Jeb with her, she was young and unexperienced she would not understand. He did not think that Jeb would either which made things worse. Yes he was disappointed and some of that was aimed at Jeb as he had always heard great things about his son, but mostly he was disappointed with himself.

He had not been a good father to his son, despite the fact that Jeb had turned out as a good man with a promising career, though not one he would have chosen for him, he still could nit approach his father. That had been the one thing that Wyatt had sworn would be different with his son, the thing that haunted him most about his own relationship with his father. The distance between them.

He could not remember a single conversation he had had with his father that had been laced with contempt and scorn. He had never spoken to Jeb that way until today and he regretted it deeply. He feared that the time spent apart thinking the other long dead had put an irreparable wedge between them, creating the distance that he had been so careful not to create. They had been happy until Zero showed up and ruined everything in their lives.

He tried to keep out of his head for the rest of the walk and maintain a cheery countenance for the sake of the princess but he knew that she saw through it. When they parted ways at the end of their walk she could barely raise her usual dazzling smile to her eyes and that only added to his regrets. Why did he always end u hurting those closet to him?

DG ran to the library as Cain walked back toward the barracks, hoping to find her sister still there so she could inform sister of the fight in the mess and Cain's odd behaviour. She burst through the door and rounded the shelves bringing the central table into view too see her sister kneeling beside a downcast Jeb. She back tracked quickly and returned to her chambers not wishing to disturb them. Was it just her or were Azkadee's lips a little swollen?

Jeb stiffened as he thought he heard somebody enter the library but when he looked around there was nobody behind them and no movement between the shelves. He relaxed slightly back into the touch of Azkadellia but his brows were still knitted together. The thoughts of that afternoon had vanished when his lips had touched her but when she had eventually pulled away from him it came flooding back with the adde worry if just having kissed a princess.

He knew that his father was unofficially walking out with her sister and the Queen and Prince Consort had raised no objections but somehow he felt that this was different. Ahamo was very protective of his older daughter and did not trust the men who tried to get close to her. He had no intentions of making his feelings known to the princess, his life would have been easier that way but they had overcome him. He cursed himself for his weakness but he could not take back what he had done without hurting her which was one thing he never intended to do ever again.

Azkadellia's mind was reeling. She had been kissed! Admittedly it was not the first time she had experienced the sensation but before it had always been tainted by the witch and it had never been so tender or caring. To think a few short weeks ago the man next to her had caused her to break down completely. She did not know how this would unfold or how it would work but she was sure she wanted it. It was something she thought had been closed off to her forever but there was now this slim possibility that she could actually experience love, she was hopeful and cautious in turns. She could not get ahead of herself.

She looked up at the clock and gasped at how late it had become, she was to be late for dinner and mother would want to know where she had been! She was uncomfortable lying to her parent and she did not hide it well. She quickly made her excuses to Jeb, unwilling to leave his side but knowing that she must do so. It was not that she wanted to hide the kiss from her parents because she thought they would not approve it was just that she wanted to keep it fro herself a little longer.

Jeb sighed as the library door shut behind her, alone he went over that days events again and again wishing that he had handled it all better. He had barely spoken a word since the kiss and though this did not seem to bother her now, he knew with hindsight she would probably pick up on this. He would have to talk to her about it eventually but he had to prepare himself for the trial in the morning and that would be a draining experience. He knew that though all of Banon's claims were unjustified or exaggerated he would have to defend himself against every slander to his superiors. Which unfortunately meant his father. He had to steel himself for the look in his father's eyes, it could not affect him tomorrow. That would make him seem weak and would put his command in even more jeopardy.

Azkadellia was expecting the quite knock and the click of her chamber door. She smiled up at her ounger sister as she crawled into bed next to her and began asking yet again about Jeb.

'You seem even happier than you did in the library, even with everything that has gone down today. Something amazing must have happened after I left you!' DG suppressed a knowing smile as her sister explained about her chance meeting with Jeb after her sister had left her. Her eyes grew wide as her sister explained the kiss.

'Now it's your turn Deeg, what's the matter with you? You're all out of sorts and no where near as bubbly.'

She tried to dodge the question but she soon learned that another trait that she and her sister shared were tenacity and eventually had to give in and explain about her walk with Cain.

By the tome she had finished explaining and Az had voiced her opinion the candle had burnt low and both were yawning. DG slipped back to her chamber and quickly slipped into a deep sleep, all thoughts of the trial in the morning and Wyatt's reticence a sent from her dreams.

Azkadellia also quickly slipped into sleep though her dreams were not as free form the days events as her sisters. She dreamt of the fight in the mess but this time it was Jeb that was stabbed in the chest. He fell to the ground blood pooling around him and she cried out and tried to reach him. As she ran towards him the attacker began laughing, shrill and unnatural. As Az looked up into his face as she knelt by the bleeding Jeb his face morphed into that of the Witch.

'How many more people are going to die for you princess? See him, his lifeblood seeping from him. That is your doing!' she screeched.

She looked down at Jeb and she tried to stop the bleeding but she couldn't, the blood spewed warm and crimson from the gaping wound leaving a tangy metallic taste in the air. She cried out in a panic and removed her hands to form a better dressing for quench the blood. She tried to rip her sleeve but felt the cold cut of metal across her skin and cried out in pain. She looked down and the knife was in her hands, sticky with Jeb's blood. She tried to throw it away but she could not. She screamed in fear, frustration and alarm as she tried to rid herself of the knife and save Jeb all the wile with the witch screeching and howling above her.

She was shaken awake and pulled into the arms of her father still screaming and sobbing into his shirts. She did not hear his soothing words nor did she register the sleeping draught that was administered. As she drifted off into a restless but dreamless sleep she searched the faces around her bed for him but he was nit there.

The next morning's trial was a quick affair with witnesses and the accused testifying. There was no dispute about what happened in the witness accounts and even Banon admitted to most of the charges.

Jeb was also interviewed and he gave an account of the accused's behaviour in training which was backed up by several of the key witnesses.

The verdict was unanimously reached by the senior army officials, magistrates and the Queen agreed with them. Banon would not see another sunrise.

Azkadellia slept through the trial, the sleeping draught having not worn off. Her parents thought it was for the best and believed that it wad the prospect of the trial itself that had caused the resurgence of her nightmares. DG had other ideas but kept them to herself, she had been the first to reach Az and had her her screaming Jeb's name.

Jeb was informed of the night's outburst by Sir Raw shortly after the hearing was concluded. He instantly felt sick and the prospect of facing his father and other officials at a secondary hearing that afternoon seemed even less appealing than it did already.

'What was it about?'

Raw looked sad and could not meet his eyes when he softly whispered 'You, she see you die. She was the reason you die.'

'Do her parents know this?'

Raw nodded, 'They think it was because of the trial, not know about the kiss.'

Jeb did not question how the seer knew it wad just one of those things. He could not stop the anger that flared up inside him though. Even now he was still managing to hurt her, she would be better off if he was not around.

Raw walked away from the quite pensive man shaking his head and praying that a future that was not yet seen by him held happiness for the young commander and the elder princess.


End file.
